Unless you've been living somewhere over on lite FM, you likely know that the mighty Led Zeppelin reunited tonight in London. The early reviews thus far have been uniformly strong, and there's speculation they might tour. Would I go? Of course I would go. I'm hopeful to see Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, at least, sometime in 2008.
I'm glad reviews indicate they're not trying to rock out like they're thirty years younger than they actually are. They wisely have decided to emphasize the blues foundation buttressing their earlier songs, especially. A more seasoned, textured approach to the material doesn't mean they can't also still get the led out when the song calls for it. I guess I'm just glad they didn't make asses of themselves pretending decades haven't gone by since they were the biggest band on the planet.
Zep guards their licensing legacy and image distribution ferociously. (There's nary a concert clip on YouTube.) There is, however, this moving and raw tribute to the power of the blues and the devastation that compels it. "When the Levee Breaks" is the epic closer of Led Zeppelin IV. Here's a montage set to Hurricane Katrina's havoc:
On a considerably lighter note, here's the incessant rocker "Immigrant Song" off of Led Zeppelin III. I made similar misinterpretations when I first heard this song:
3 comments:
Brent forced me to listen to a straight hour of the Zep last night while I was making dinner. They're both ludicrous and awesome in practically equal measure.
Equally ludicrous and awesome is a apt description. Has Brent made you watch any of the concert movie "The Song Remains the Same"? A remastered version just came out. Those fantasy sequences are a stone riot. Like Ed Wood directing the Lord of the Rings.
And then there's Peter Grant. They should make a movie just about him.
I think maybe I need more pot than we currently have in the house to get through TSRTS, from the sounds of it...
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